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| WSSU’s Justin Glover scored a career-high 31 points against Bowie State Monday night. (WSSU photo) |
Winston-Salem State’s Justin Glover found himself matched up against one of Division II’s top scorers in Bowie State’s Byron Westmorland Monday night. Glover proved he could hold his own as the senior guard came up huge for his team as they battled back from an eight-point second half deficit to defeat Bowie State 77-72 in Bowie, MD.
Glover scored 31 points for the Rams, who recorded their ninth straight win. The current winning streak is the longest for Rams coach Bobby Collins and the program’s longest since the 2004-2005 series. The win also keeps them perfect in CIAA play.
WSSU (10-2, 3-0) controlled the game in the first half, as they took a 42-35 lead into halftime. But the Bulldogs, propelled by seven quick points from Westmorland was not about to go away. They went on a 9-0 run midway through the second half to take a 58-50 lead with under 11 minutes remaining.
The Rams would respond with a run of their own, outscoring Bowie 16-4 in the next six minutes to regain the lead for good.
WyKevin Bazemore added 15 points for WSSU and Joe Thompson chipped in 10 points.
The Rams held Westmorland to 22 points, just below his average of over 25 per game. Ray Gaitling and Najee White added 17 and 16 points for Bowie.
The Bulldogs had trouble holding on to the ball for most of the game. They finished with 25 turnovers while the Rams had just 13. It was something Bowie State coach Darrell Brooks felt was a difference in the game.
“That was the difference in the game,” he said. “We just can’t turn the ball over like that against good basketball teams.”